Alleppey
Take a public ferry or chartered motorboat cruise through Alleppey's 1,500 km network of interlinking canals, rivers, and lakes — gliding past toddy-tappers climbing coconut palms, women washing clothes on canal steps, Chinese fishing nets (cheena vala), and tiny church steeples rising above the palms.
The Alleppey–Kottayam public ferry (₹10 per person) is one of the world's great value boat journeys — an authentic local experience through the heart of the backwaters.